November 16, 2013

2013 NJCAA Men's Half Marathon Champions: Iowa Central CC

CHAMPIONSHIP HOME - COMPLETE RESULTS

DALLAS, Ga. – Iowa Central claimed their third consecutive NJCAA Men’s Half Marathon championship Saturday, taking the top two places at Silver Comet Trail in Dallas, Ga.

Sophomore Tashir Chakisso led the Triton effort with an NJCAA-record time of 1:06:11.48. Chakisso’s time came in 6.22 seconds shy of the record set by former Iowa Central runner Stanley Kebenei at the 2011 NJCAA Championship. Kebenei’s record time of 1:06:17.7 was also beaten by Tritons freshman Frankline Tonui who placed second with a time of 1:06:12.36.

Cloud County (Kan.) freshman Benard Keter came in third at 1:09:12.36, while fourth place went to Gillette (Wyo.) sophomore Mike Nelson with a time of 1:09:21:.36. Finishing in at 1:10:04.31, Vincennes (Ind.) freshman Robert Murphy rounded out the top five.

With Iowa Central totaling 10 points, Gillette’s 27 garnered second-place honors. The Pronghorns were led by Nelson’s fourth-place run and two more top 15 finishes by sophomores Matt Jackson (1:11:28.96) and Alejandro Garcia (1:12:27.19). El Paso (Texas) earned third place with 34 points, followed by Allen County (Kan.) with 39 and South Plains (Texas) with 40.

The Iowa Central men’s victory Saturday gave them their fourth championship, surpassing South Plains for most all-time in the NJCAA. Chakisso added to the Tritons’ NJCAA record for most individual titles, notching the program’s fifth championship and third straight.